Waltz family honored as Limerick citizens of the year

left to right Hollywood actress Lisa Waltz was home in Limerick to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Waltz Golf Farm with her parents Bill and Bobbie Waltz. The Waltz family was honored with a number of plaques and congratulations for the Pa. Senate and House of Representatives during a ceremony on the 4th of July. Photo by John Strickler The Mercury

LIMERICK — After 50 years of running their business, the Waltz family has been honored as the township’s citizens of the year for giving back to the community.

“How about that? I can’t believe it,” Bobbie Waltz, the family matriarch, said Sunday.

Limerick’s board of supervisors announced in a meeting earlier in the week that the Waltzes would be presented with an award recognizing their charitable work.

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Friday, prior to the fireworks, the Waltzes received their award, along with congratulations from the state legislature for their business’ success.

Most recently, the Waltz Golf Farm hosted a fundraiser for the township’s fire services. In September, they’ll do the same for the Limerick Police.

“The Waltzes have really been major contributors to our community,” said the supervisors’ chairwoman, Elain DeWan.

Lisa Waltz, the daughter of Bobbie and Bill, two of the original owners of the complex, said they try to give back to the fire services and police because they’re sometimes underappreciated.

“We need them and we’re so happy we can actually do something for them back,” Lisa said. “It’d be nice if there was a little awareness from the general public raise from this. People don’t think about fire (companies) until there’s a fire. They don’t think about police until you have an emergency.”

The Waltzes charity extends beyond emergency services.

For example, in October 2012, Waltz Golf Farm hosted Wyatt Daring day, a fundraiser for Daring, then 5-years-old, who suffers from a genetic disorder which affects his skin.

“It’s not just the police and fire, it’s a lot of different things for the community,” DeWan told The Mercury following Tuesday’s meeting.

Lisa said her parents established the business in 1964 with her grandfather, Raymond G. “Sandy” Waltz — who owned the property and used it as a farm since the 1930s — and her uncle, Ray Sr.

When they received the recognition Friday, Lisa, a film and TV actress, said it was like a “big Waltz family reunion.”

Asked why she thinks her family’s business has done so well over the years, Lisa said it’s “because of everyone coming” and continuing to visit.

“In the 60s, when we opened, (miniature golf) was the thing to do,” Lisa said. “Then there was the video games craze...I think people are starting to push back in the other direction. They want to do something outside and not in front of a television set.”

Fireworks on the Fourth of July is a distinctive part of the Waltz legacy, but Lisa said they actually didn’t start on Independence Day.

“It was June 25, (1994), to celebrate the 30th anniversary,” she said. “We didn’t want to step on any of Pottstown’s Independence Day festivities because they did them so well. It was supposed to be a one-time thing. Then people said, ‘You’re gonna do that again, right?’”

“All of a sudden, it started turning into this tradition,” Lisa said. “We’re very honored that so many people have trusted us with their Fourth of July.”

As many as 7,000 turned out for the fireworks this year on the Waltz property, though there were countless others watching from elsewhere.

“I even look at the bunting they put out and it makes you feel really good as you’re driving down Ridge Pike,” DeWan said of the Waltz display, which is facilitated by D and M Fireworks.

Overall, Lisa and the Waltz family give credit back to the community, especially the fire and police services.

“This thing could not happen without them,” she said. “They really work so hard and we couldn’t be here without them.”